DIGICON INC. ORDERS TWO CONVEX META SERIES SYSTEMS
TO MEET EXPANDING SEISMIC PROCESSING NEEDS
RICHARDSON, Texas, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Convex Computer Corporation (NYSE: CNX) today announced that Digicon Inc. (AMEX: DGC), a Houston-based geophysical service company, has ordered two Convex Meta Series systems. The newly released Meta Series links a powerful Convex supercomputer with any number of Hewlett-Packard Company's PA-RISC processing nodes. Digicon will use the Convex Meta Series for massively parallel seismic applications.
"Massively parallel processing (MPP) has been an integral part of Digicon's strategy toward future competitiveness," said Rudy Prince, Digicon's chairman and chief executive officer. "Success in the energy marketplace depends on the ability to continually boost computer throughput and improve turnaround for massive amounts of data utilized in today's intensive analytical models. The Convex Meta Series is an ideal solution for Digicon as it is compatible with our present seismic analysis needs, and provides the capability for processing far beyond the power of today's computer systems," he noted.
Digicon installed its first Convex supercomputer in 1988, and since then has continued to select Convex systems to meet its geophysical data processing needs. A total of 12 Convex supercomputers are currently in use worldwide at Digicon's 12 computer centers, and the company will add three more supercomputers in the very near future. Digicon will install one of the Meta Series systems in its Houston office in December of this year, and the other is planned to begin production in the UK in March 1993.
"We selected the Convex Meta Series because it combines the high-end server capabilities of a C Series supercomputer with the high- performance technology of a PA-RISC cluster," Prince continued. "We expect this unique combination will deliver a balanced environment for a broad range of high-performance energy applications."
According to Robert J. Paluck, Convex chairman, president, and chief executive officer, the Meta Series provides seismic users with three distinct benefits: the proven I/O performance of the Convex C Series or data-intensive tasks, immediate application acceleration via clustered PA-RISC processors, and an evolutionary software path for MPP. "As the leading supplier of supercomputers in the petroleum industry today, Convex is committed to supplying customers with the latest advances in MPP technology. The Meta Series hardware, combined with the parallel software tools, provides users with a platform for scalable algorithm and application development that will be employed on MPP systems of the future."
As part of its processing capabilities, Digicon has developed its SeismicTANGO software system. "SeismicTANGO, which operates in a UNIX- based environment, is designed to take maximum advantage of the parallel processing capabilities in today's advanced computers," Prince noted. "SeismicTANGO efficiently processes extremely large data volumes associated with 3-D seismic surveys, and includes interactive features to aid geophysicists in determining optimum job parameters."
Digicon is an international, advanced-technology company providing geophysical data acquisition and data processing services to the petroleum industry. The company operates 12 data processing centers, nine marine geophysical vessels, and four land data acquisition crews. Employing approximately 1,200 people, Digicon has offices in Houston; Oklahoma City; Jackson, Miss.; London, Jakarta, Brisbane, Bogota, Kuala Lumpur, Holland, Malaysia, Bangkok, and Singapore. Digicon's common stock is listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol DGC.
Convex Computer Corporation, a leading supplier of air-cooled supercomputers worldwide, markets its products primarily to scientific, engineering, and technical users for a wide variety of applications in areas such as seismic processing, reservoir simulation, computational chemistry, computer-aided engineering, image processing, aerospace simulations, and molecular biology. Convex is a member of the Precision Risc Organization (PRO), an association of industry-leading companies that promote the use of HP's PA-RISC technology. Convex, which is listed on the NYSE with the symbol CNX, has sold more than 1,100 systems to nearly 600 customers in 44 countries. The systems are sold and serviced through direct sales and an extensive distribution network.
-0- 10/26/92
/CONTACT: Donna Burke, 214-497-4230, or Alison Peoples, 214-497-4226, both of Convex Computer Corporation/
(CNX) CO: Convex Computer Corporation; Digicon Inc. ST: Texas IN: CPR SU: CON

SM -- NY066 -- 4778 10/26/92 12:25 EST

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